After Week of Passenger Runs into Bosnia,
Fledgling Airline Sees Dream take Flight
(SARAJEVO—AP) At its founding two years ago, Air Bosnia was little more than a dream. For a week, it has been a reality. When Air Bosnia’s Cessna 550 touched down last week at Sarajevo’s airport, it brought a touch of normalcy to this battered capital. It was the first commercial airline passenger flight into Sarajevo since the start of the war in April 1992. The eight-seater arrived from Brussels carrying a Bosnian government delegation led by Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic.It was "more of a symbolic flight, but for us it was very important because it indicated that we have started our commercial flights to and from Sarajevo," said Omer Kulic, head of the state-run airline. After a brief stop at the airport, the plane set off for Ljubljana, Slovenia, where Air Bosnia’s aircraft are based.
The Cessna could not remain at the shell-shattered Sarajevo airport because the NATO-led peacekeeping force that controls the airport will not allow civilian aircraft to use its hangars, Kulic said. Peacekeeping officials had given clearance for the March 22 flight, and their permission will be needed for future flights.
Air Bosnia was founded in May, 1994, with the Bosnian government holding 51 percent of the stock and Energoinvest Corp. holding the rest. Energoinvest, an engineering company that was one of the largest corporations in the former Yugoslavia, donated the Cessna 550 used to launch the airline. The airline now has added two passenger planes—a 105-seat DC-9 and a Spanish-made KAZA-212 with 20 seats—and two cargo planes.
Kulic said the airline plans to start regular daily flights from Sarajevo to Croatia, Slovenia, Germany and Turkey by the end of April. The flight to Ljubljana will cost $190. Initially, Air Bosnia expects to make more money from its cargo service, particularly from importing goods into Sarajevo, ravaged by 3½ years of war. "Our goal is to connect Sarajevo with the whole world," Kulic said.
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